Strike
by bayntonette97
Summary: Upon spending time with Hephaistion, Prince Alexander unintentionally finds out his best friend's secret; he isn't all too pleased about it. (Can become a longer work if it is wanted.)
1. Chapter 1

"You cannot let them speak to you in such a way, 'Phai. You're worth so much more than they make you feel; you cannot allow them to upset you in such a manner. You came home to visit them, you did not have to, you CHOSE to; if they cannot see that, my love, then they are not worth your time and effort. You do not need them, not anymore, my love; for you have I and I will serve to protect you from all that may pose a threat. Do not listen to the harsh words they utter, they mean to knock your confidence."

A cool breeze rippled through the water of the beautiful, blue lake; the pair perched on the rocks, content in one another's arms. From a distance, you would see nothing but a cute couple, sitting, resting; enjoying one another's company, from a distance you would see the hand that ran through the beautiful, wavy brown hair of the handsome young male as he leant up against his companion, his eyes closed as he rested. But as you got closer, the hurt on his face was clear, the anguish and the tracks from the dried up tears littered his flawless features; his beautiful blue eyes were red and swollen, his head resting on the shoulder of his companion as he attempted to soothe the demons that trespassed his mind.

"Do not allow them to distress you, you must relax and rest, my love, for you will make yourself unwell if you worry so much. What they say are lies, you are a handsome, compassionate young male; I will do everything in my power to ensure that you remember that. Since we met, all those years ago, I have never wanted, never _needed_ another friend, for I had you and no-one else would do. When you were sick, I did everything I possibly could to nurse you through it. Would I have done that if you were as your family describe you? I adore your presence; I love you with every fibre of my being. As Master Aristotle says; _love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies._ I cannot love you, without you loving me also; I can feel the love radiating from you as you curl up against me."

A beautiful pink filled the sky as the sun began to set in west, a comforting view for the pair as they looked out towards the water, the reeds and grass on the bank around them blowing very slightly, rustling. Birds emptied the sky, returning to their nests for the night; soon enough, the only life nearby the beautiful lake was the two males, standing slowly; stretching out their painful limbs, stiff from sitting in the same position for the best part of the evening.

"I dare not return home. My family think of me as a coward already; running away would have confirmed their suspicions. I cannot return, they think ill of me enough; now I have made things worse for myself. I should have stayed; I should have ignored the snide remarks and comments from them. I should have fed the animals as expected," A groan filled the air, the young man tugging his hands from his best friend's grip and tucking them under his armpits. "I have made things so much worse for myself; there is no way I can sleep in that house tonight."

"You cannot sleep out here, Hephaistion, it is unsafe. You must return to the warmth. Your mother will be worried. Do not listen to your father; do not listen to your grandparents, 'Phai. Just go home and go to bed; I will be with you, will I not?" He questioned, reaching out and placing his hands on the young male's elbows, attempting to guide him back to the rather large farmhouse, but the poor boy refused to leave the lakeside.

"I am not going, Alexander. If you wish to return to the household then do so, but I am not returning with you. I will be rejected as soon as I enter the door; because of my childish, selfish behaviour we will not get any food tonight. There is no point in me returning home tonight, I will go tomorrow once the sun rises, I will go feed the horses and I will stay in the barn for the day, but I am not returning tonight."

Furrowing his eyebrows, he watched as his friend lowered himself to the ground again, his head resting on his knees; his hands still hooked in his armpits. A shaky sigh shook his thin frame as he sniffled, if he wasn't already, Alexander knew that it wouldn't be long before he begun to weep again. He knelt down beside him, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his shaking shoulder, hoping his fingertips would provide at least a little bit of comfort for the young male.

"Listen to me," He begun softly "we need to return to your home, Hephaistion. We need to rest properly. Tomorrow we can set off to Aristotle's homestead. You will be safe there; he will not mind. But we cannot walk all that time without resting correctly. We will need food, we will need drink. We cannot gain those unless we return to the home."

"I do not want to, Alexander." Looking up, his big blue eyes pleaded with the blonde-haired male, wanting him to understand his fears; to understand why he could not return home, not tonight at least.

"Hephaistion, if we are to reach Aristotle's household by midday, we need to set off at sunrise. We need to rest comfortably." He ran his spare hand through his blonde waves, noting how they had slowly darkened over the years.

"I…"

"Please Hephaistion? For me?" Alexander's brown eyes were soft as he looked towards the young male, moving his right hand to his chin, lifting his head up with a gentle pressure from his thumb. The young male let out a defeated sigh, there was no way he was going to beat Alexander in this argument.

"I really don't want to-…" He raised his hand to silence his friend before continuing "But I will. Because I care for you, Xander, and I don't want you to worry about me too much." He dragged himself from the hard floor, his hands hanging by his sides as the pair set off slowly, the lakeside dark and dingy with the absence of the sun.

"'Phai," Reaching out, he stopped his blue-eyed friend from walking with a gentle touch of his hand. He stepped in front of the male, taking his shaking hands in his own and looking into his beautiful, ocean-like blue eyes.

"I'm going straight to bed," He stated "When we get back. I'm going straight to bed; I dare not converse with anybody tonight, Xander."

"Why not?"

"I will humiliate myself, Xander." Feeling strong arms wrap around his waist, he took a step forwards, pushing himself into his best friend's embrace; resting his head on his shoulder and stifling a yawn.

"I'll join you, 'Phai. If I even attempt to converse with your family I will lose my temper; I do not wish to cause harm to your people." He ran his hand through his friend's beautiful brown waves, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek and taking his hand. The pair set off again, walking slowly towards the large farmhouse, flickering candles lighting up the room.

"'Phai," He began softly as the young male stopped again, pushing his head into the older male's chest as his breathing came out in ragged gulps. "The night will pass by quickly, you just need to close your eyes and let your mind rest. At sunrise, we will walk; we will set off as soon as possible. With one stop to relieve ourselves, we will, hopefully, arrive at Mieza by Midday."

Reaching out, his took his companion's shaking hand, brushed his long brown hair from his eyes and placed a kiss to his forehead, his right hand carefully tracing the scar under Hephaistion's left eye. With a soft nudge, the pair began walking again, Alexander willing to be as patient with his soul mate as needed. A comfortable silence encased the two as they ducked under overhanging trees; their hands clasped together, only the odd sniffle from Hephaistion being heard.

"I didn't realise you put up with so much," Alexander muttered, not wanting to raise his voice any louder for fear of interrupting his beloved's train of thought "I feel awful for not being there to support you."

"That was nothing, Xander. I have suffered through so much more alone. Plus, you could not have done anything to help me. I just cannot wait for morning to arrive so that we can escape this dreadful place. I cannot wait to arrive at Aristotle's for I know we will be safe with him, he will allow us to relax; he will allow us to bathe and eat."

"Aristotle will go ballistic when he finds out what your family have been doing to you, Hephaistion, he will not tolerate it."

"Please, Alexander, we cannot tell him." Hephaistion begged, his head shooting around to see him "I wish not to be the cause of anymore problems."

"'Phai, this is unfair on you. You have done nothing at all to cause this treatment and it cannot be left to continue." He stated firmly "And I will not allow them to victimize you in such a way."

"Alexander, there is nothing you can do about it. Nothing at all. Don't even try." His voice was so defensive, Alexander let his hand slip away from the older male's grasp.

"I will be here for you. In both body and spirit." He whispered, pausing mid-step and pulling his best friend into his embrace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: This is just a filler chapter so you can get a bit of Hephaistion's background. I hope to continue this, if that is what is wanted. I do not know how long the story will be. **

Blindingly bright sun beat down on their backs as they fought their way through overhanging trees, their clothes snagging on vicious thorns that surrounded them, holly leaves scratching their shimmering skin, slick with sweat; around the thin waist of Hephaistion hung a brown pouch laden with numerous varieties of foods they had nabbed from the house of Amyntor.

A comfortable kind of silence encased the two, leaving the youngest of the duo with only his thoughts for company. Young Alexander had always cared greatly for Hephaistion, since the first night his father, General Amyntor, had left him at Mieza without so much as a goodbye – the poor boy knew not what to do with himself.

_Night-time had not been easy for the young brunette; his irrational fears had clouded his mind almost as soon as the sun set on the horizon, leaving the room in a darkness lit only by a single candle between the two males. Rolling onto his left side, he had tried to remain calm, squeezing his eyes closed, burying himself under the soft covers and plugging his fingers into his ears in a bid to block out any possible sounds. _

_Night-time had _never_ been easy for the young male, his body never seemed to want to settle and his young mind was always racing, answers to unspoken questions making an unbidden appearance in his thoughts; words, phrases – even stories, fully written, clouding his mind and sending his senses into a frenzy. _

_He feared, even at the tender age of seven, that he may not be like the people that surround him, the people that converse so easily with one another, the people that happily spend time with loved ones and the people that can laugh at things young Hephaistion found hurtful and confusing. At the tender age of seven he found himself fearing that, inside his head, he was not…normal; nothing his family could say would help reassure the young male. _

"_Breathe, son," His father would instruct with a soft tint to his baritone voice as his young boy would panic, shouting and crying at things that, to others, were not there – or were simply not worth the effort, "Let it pass; you'll be fine." _

_The irrational and unexplainable fears became too much for the family to deal with, long nights and early morning awakenings put a strain on the parents; their eldest child, Lysander, could not concentrate on his training – being constantly exhausted. Visits during the night from a terrified child; changing soiled bed sheets, hoping they would be dry enough for him to sleep in that same night. The family couldn't do it anymore. _

_So they ignored the child. Hoping and praying that he would stop his awful, unacceptable behaviour of he were denied the attention they believed he craved. It didn't work, the behaviour worsened; the house was all but knocked down by a very strong little boy in a very strong sense of panic. He was locked in cupboards, left in barns and even refused food until he calmed down, but nothing seemed to work. _

"_No more, father," Lysander had sobbed at the breakfast table, his head in his hands and his mother at his shoulder, tentatively rubbing soothing circles into the joint, "I cannot take it, father, what did we do wrong? Why do we deserve this?" The screaming child had been locked in the cupboard, his strangled, pained screams escaping the cracks as he kicked, trying to break the door down. _

_The misbehaviour of the child was becoming too much; even Amyntor, the King's strongest general, was becoming emotional at the lack of sleep. He would hold the child down as he fought his grasp, crying and screaming, he would beg him to sleep, to stop his silly behaviour. But nothing would work and, still, he found himself wide awake for the best part of the night. _

"_Hephaistion, please," Lady Amyntoros would speak with a soft, quiet voice, assuming her husband's position and clambering onto the bed with the young boy, pulling him into her tight embrace and brushing his brunette tresses from his baby blue eyes, trying her best to fight away whatever demons were plaguing her young son's mind. _

It had been Alexander who had managed to talk his new-found friend into telling him what was really bothering him; he had sat beside him on the bed, his right arm looped around his shoulders as the older male sobbed, his head buried in his hands. Alexander had ended up guiding the young male to Aristotle in order for him to calm down, the elderly teacher had spoken with the pair, attempting to assure young Hephaistion that he had nothing to fear; attempting to assure him that, despite what he thought, he was just the same as the boys that surrounded him.

Hephaistion had always loved his family, but despite that, they had never seen him as anything other than the trouble maker he was before he was sent to Mieza. They treated him indifferently, acting as though he wasn't there and that hurt the young man more than anything. If he stepped even one foot out of line, his father would ensure it went no further, be it pinning him up against the wall with the neck of his chiton or pinning him onto the bed so that he could not move, he would not allow the boy to descend back to what he was.

"I love them, Xander," He muttered, turning his head and breaking the silence that had once encased them, "But they don't love me."

"I'm sure they do, they just do not know how to show it to you." Alexander stepped closer to the older male, throwing his arm around his best friend and promising him that no matter what happened, he would love him none stop.


End file.
